Chronicles of Karma

Bronze Whispers

Do you remember when we were younger, always eager to grow up, thinking being an adult was the ultimate goal? Sadly, it's like imagining living in a world filled with ice cream — both initially seem fantastic until you realise the health problems they bring.

My Amma always used to tell me to cherish the childlike innocence and the joys of childhood, for even the gods envy that. As I sat on the cold floor, flipping through our family albums, each picture seemed to hold the power to write a poem.

Amma loved being a mom, cherishing every moment spent with me, and Appa loved capturing those memories in a pictorial format. He was the photographer of our small family.

Amma and Appa shared a beautiful relationship, celebrating their love every day. It was surprising that they had an arranged marriage, but Amma used to say it's not about how you meet; it's about how your souls meet and how much they want to hold onto each other.

They are Kandhan and Devayani, like the god Murugan and his consort Devayani. It just gives so much meaning to their relationship. Others would jokingly ask Amma to ensure Appa doesn't seek Valli, and Appa would respond that he found his Valli in his Devayani. Their love inspired my desire for a similar story as I grew up.

Unfortunately, I never got that happy ending. I believed in soulmates, and I still do, but reality is slowly eroding my hope. I sighed, not wanting to delve into another about of depression about my single life in my twenties.

Closing the album, I turned toward the Krishna idol. I reached out and took him in my arms. Mom says this bronze idol has been in the family for at least ten generations. How many stories it holds?

She mentioned how Krishna lifted her spirits and provided everything she ever wanted. I smiled softly at the memory, but suddenly, anger replaced sadness. The burst of anger came from how this beloved Krishna didn't save them, how years of praying had no impact on their beautiful souls. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I looked at Krishna's smiling face.

'Why did you do this? Why couldn't you spare them?' I softly asked, hoping for a response.

'Answer me!' I shouted, but only silence prevailed. I laughed at my silliness — how could an idol respond to a human?

Suddenly, my eyes caught an inscription near the bottom of the idol. It looked unreadable. Curiosity got the best of me; I took out my phone and snapped a picture, thinking it might be an old saying.

After what felt like an eternity, I let it go, assuming it might be something related to Krishna. Just as I was about to close the search, something caught my eye — a link with content similar to the inscription I found.

I clicked on it, and the website had many sayings with their meanings. The inscription was Sangam Tamil. Could this idol be that old? I doubted it. Maybe someone who knew about Sangam literature had made this later on.

Finally, I found what I was searching for. The English translation read, 'In the event of Chaos, say my Name.' Seriously? That's it! I was expecting some hidden poetic reference or something cool. My mom used to call this idol her Sakha. Maybe she found out about this and kept a nickname for him. I smiled, placed both the idol and the album near my bed, and got ready to go out.

I can't slouch around all day just because it's my parents' death anniversary. I checked my phone and saw I still had a few hours before the nearby grocery shop closed.

'Maybe some fresh air will do me good,' I whispered and continued the chores.

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